Foldable container and blanks therefor

ABSTRACT

A receptacle such as a container, box, tray, or the like includes two or more elements that are interconnected either in fixed, secured relationship, or for limited telescoping movement therebetween. The elements are each formed from a blank of foldable material such as paperboard, cardboard, or the like, and each has, in addition to a main panel, a first panel having a tab at one end thereof that is received between double walls of a second panel and is interconnected with one of said walls.

United States Patent Beigel [54] FOLDABLE CONTAINER AND BLANKS THEREFOR[72] Inventor: Raymond J. Beige], 505 Xenia Avenue, Dayton, Ohio 4541022 Filed: NOV.9, 1970 21 Appl.No.: 87,741

[52] US. Cl. ..229/19, 229/23 BT, 229/34 R [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 5/32[58] Field of Search ..229/19, 23 R, 23 A, 23 AB, 229/23 BT, 34 R [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 948,967 2/1910 Child ..229/23 R X2,100,711 11/1937 Drake ..229/23 R 911,304 2/1909 Henrich ..229/23 A2,193,925

3/1940 Huye ..229/231A [451 Oct. 24, 1972 Ingram ..229/23 BT Martin..229/23 BT Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton Attorney-Irvin V. Gleim,Edward M. Tritle and Francis M. Crawford 571 ABSTRACT A receptacle suchas'a container, b0x, tray,'or the like includes twoor more elements thatare interconnected either in fixed, secured relationship, or for limitedtelescoping movement therebetween. The elements are each formed from ablank of foldable material such as paperboard, cardboard, or the like,and each has, in addition to a main panel, a first panel having a tab atone end thereof that is received between double walls of a second paneland is interconnected with one of said walls.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 24|912 PATENTEDH SHEET 3 [1F 3 C 9 IINVENTOR- PWMO/VD- u. BEIGEL jg. 5 BY FOLDABLE CONTAINER AND BLANKSTHEREFOR BACKGROUND Heretofore, boxes, containers, receptacles, or thelike have been constructed in several different ways. For example,sometimes a blank of suitable material is cut to desired shape and thenfolded and the various element of the blank are then folded and securedtogether in desired relationship by suitable securing means such asglue, staples, stitching, and the like. While such containers aregenerally satisfactory, they are subject to the disadvantage that theyrequire considerable space for storage while they are awaiting use and,additionally, may be irreparably damaged as a result of carelessness oraccident while the assembled box is in storage and awaiting use.

In other instances containers have been assembled by first cutting ablank to desired shape and to provide securing tabs'at desiredlocations. The blanks can be stored in a flat condition, and thecontainer is not assembled until it is needed for use. Assembly of thecontainer is achieved by folding the several portions of the cut andscored blank and then securing the container in its elected position bymeans of the securing tabs which are inserted into slits or slots cut inthe blank at appropriate locations.

However, insofar as I am aware, none of the prior art containers orassembly methods were intended nor were they capable of being assembledto provide a container that provided for telescoping relative movementbetween various elements thereof. Accordingly, it is a principal objectof the present invention to provide such a container and blank fromwhich it may be manufactured.

SUMMARY In accordance with the present invention, a receptacle such as acontainer, box, tray, or the like, which may be either of the open orclosed type, comprises at least two elements constructed of foldablematerial such as paperboard, cardboard, or the like which are cut andscored to define a main panelhaving a first panel portion foldablyconnected along one edge thereof and having an end of the first panelportion received and interconnected, either in slidable relation or infixed secured relation, with one wall of a second panel portion alsofoldably connected to the main panel along an adjacent side thereof,said second panel portion having foldably connected inner and outerwalls.

DESCRIPTION Other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank formed in accordance with the teachingsof the present invention for use in forming container structure inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is another blank in accordance with the present invention alsofor use in forming a container in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a view, partly broken, illustrating the manner ofinterconnection between portions of th blanks of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an intermediate step in the folding andassembly of the blank of FIG. 1 in forming the container structure inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 5. is a view illustrating the manner of interconnecting the variousportions of the blanks of FIG. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of still another blank in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a view illustratingdiagrammatically how the blanks of FIG. 6may be assembled in forming a container structure in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a container in accordance with theinvention.

As indicated in FIG. 1, a blank of foldable material such as paperboard,cardboard, or the like is indicated generally at 10. The blank is cutto'desired shape and scored to provide scorelines 11-15 inclusive whichdefine the blank into a plurality of panels which include bottom panell6,end 17, sides 18, 19, and auxiliary sides 20, 21. Sides 20, 21 havecut out portions defining slots 22, 23 that extend substantially theentire length of sides 20, 21 but terminate short of the ends thereof.

, End 17 has notched tabs 24, 25' at opposite ends thereof.

If desired, blank 10 may be cut in single operation, for example, by adie following which the blanks may be stored and/or shipped in a flatcondition until needed for use.

A second blank 26 is cut from foldable material such as paperboard,cardboard, or the like to a desired shape and scored along scorelines2730 inclusive which define a plurality of panels including bottom 31,end 32, auxiliary end 33, and sides 35, 36. Side 33 includes a cut outportion defining a slot 34 extending along the length of side 33 butterminating short of the ends thereof. Notched tabs 37, 38 are providedat opposite ends of side 35 and similar tabs 39, 40 are provided atopposite ends of side 36.

An intermediate step in the folding and assembly of the blank tab informing a container in accordance with the present invention will bebest understood by reference to FIG. 1 and 4. Auxiliary side 20 isfolded upwardly and inwardly along scoreline 11, and auxiliary side 21is similarly folded along scoreline 14. Side 18 is then folded upwardlyand inwardly along scoreline 12, and side 19 is similarly folded alongline 13. The blank 10 then is in the form of a U-shaped member which isopen at both ends with sides 18, 19 upstanding from the bottom 16 andwith auxiliary sides 20, 21 folded inwardly relative to sides 18, 19,respectively. End 17 is then folded upwardly and inwardly along line 15and tabs 24, 25 are folded upwardly and inwardly along lines 11, 12,respectively. End 17 is then secured to the sides l8, 19. This isaccomplished in accordance with the invention by inserting tab 25between side 19 and the inwardly folded auxiliary side 21 and throughslot 23, as shown in FIG. 4. Tab 24 is then inserted and secured in asimilar manner relative to side 18 and slot 22. This completes theassembly of one-half of a container in accordance with the presentinvention.

The blank 26 is folded, assembled and secured in essentially the samemanner. Auxiliary end 33 is folded upwardly and inwardly along line 30,and end 32 is then folded upwardly and inwardly along line 29. Sides 35,36 are then folded upwardly and inwardly along lines 27,- 28respectively. Tabs 38, 40 are folded inwardly along line 29 and insertedbetween sides 32, 33 and through slot 34, thereby securing sides 35, 36to the end 39 and completing the assembly of the second half of thecontainer.

The then'folded and assembled blanks and 26 are then connected togetherto form a telescoping container either in the form of a tray having anopen top or a closeable box. This is accomplished by inserting tabs 37and 39 between sides 18, 20 and 19, 21 and through the slots 22, 23, asillustrated in FIG. 3. If the assembled blanks l0 and 26 are thusconnected together with both bottom panels 16 and3l at the bottom withthe sides thereof upstanding therefrom, a telescoping tray having anopen top is formed. If the blanks are relatively reversed so that 16 and31 form a top and bottom, a telescoping boxlike container is formed. Acontainer thus formed is shown in FIG. 5.

Still another blank in accordance with the invention is illustrated inFIG. 6.- The blank 26a is like blank 26 except that side36 and tabs 39,40 are omitted. Folding, assembly, and securing of the side to the endis essentially like that described in connection with FIG. 4 Auxiliaryend 33 is folded upwardly and inwardly along line 30 and then side 32 isalso folded upwardly and inwardly along line 29. Side 35 is then foldedupwardly and inwardly along line 27 and is secured to the end byinserting tab 38 between ends 32, 33 and secured by in- In all of theforegoing structures, the slotted auxiliary side or end portion has beendescribed as being folded inwardly relative to the corresponding side orend to which it is attached. When this is done, the resulting tray orcontainer has smooth unbroken outer sides and ends and the slottedportions face inwardly of the container. In certain of the structuresdescribed heretofore, it may be desirable to fold the slotted side orend outwardly to facilitate or permit insertion of a securing tabthrough the slot.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that variouschanges and modifications can be made without departing from theinvention, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all suchchanges and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A blank for a telescoping container comprising a main panel havingfirst and second panels foldably connected thereto along one end andalong one sid of said main anel res ectivel said first panel having a noched tri l) foldably connected to one end thereof, and

a third panel foldably connected to said second panel and parallel tosaid one side,

said third panel defining a tab-receiving slot extending longitudinallyof said third panel and terminating adjacent the respective endsthereof.

2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said first panel has a notchedtab foldably connected to each end thereof.

3. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said main panel has a pair ofsaid first panels foldably connected thereto along opposite sidesthereof.

4. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said main panel has saidsecond and third interconnected panels foldably connected thereto alongopposite sides thereof.

5. A container comprising a pair of blanks each having a bottom withupstanding walls foldably connected thereto,

an auxiliary wall portion foldably connected to one of the upstandingwalls of one of said blanks, said auxiliary wall portion having a slottherein terminating short of the ends thereof,

an upstanding wall of the other of said blanks disposed between saidauxiliary wall portion and said one upstanding wall, and having aportiori" of said other upstanding wall interconnected with and slidablyreceived in said slot for relative telescoping movement therewith.

1. A blank for a telescoping container comprising a main panel havingfirst and second panels foldably connected thereto along one end andalong one side of said main panel respectively, said first panel havinga notched tab foldably connected to one end thereof, and a third panelfoldably connected to said second panel and parallel to said one side,said third panel defining a tab-receiving slot extending longitudinallyof said third panel and terminating adjacent the respective endsthereof.
 2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said first panel hasa notched tab foldably connected to each end thereof.
 3. Structureaccording to claim 1 wherein said main panel has a pair of said firstpanels foldably connected thereto along opposite sides thereof. 4.Structure according to claim 1 wherein said main panel has said secondand third interconnected panels foldably connected thereto alongopposite sides thereof.
 5. A container comprising a pair of blanks eachhaving a bottom with upstanding walls foldably connected thereto, anauxiliary wall portion foldably connected to one of the upstanding wallsof one of said blanks, said auxiliary wall portion having a slot thereinterminating short of the ends thereof, an upstanding wall of the otherof said blanks disposed between said auxiliary wall portion and said oneupstanding wall, and having a portion of said other upstanding wallinterconnected with and slidably received in said slot for relativetelescoping movement therewith.